Brim Testimonial: "We're Sold on the Need"

A Board Member's Perspective

Sunnyside Community Hospital jon-mercer
Sunnyside, Washington

The merger that created one stronger hospital out of two weakers ones in Washington's Lower Yakima Valley was guided by leadership from Brim Healthcare more than two decades ago. In an industry where tumult and change have been constant and improvements often elusive, Brim is still at work more than 20 years later with the board of Sunnyside Community Hospital, the organization that emerged from the previous two, facilitating upgrades in technology and facilities and providing other key management services that have helped Sunnyside grow and thrive.

With the hospital pointed in the right direction and the community around it growing, why would the board continue renewing its contract with Brim?

"We're sold on the need for outside management to run small rural hospitals," said Dr. Jon Mercer, a local veterinarian and member of the board since the hospital was formed. "Brim has been successful at handling the problems we see, and it's critical to have that kind of support in this day and time."

In late 2007, Sunnyside opened its expanded, remodled emergency department, a major step forward for the hospital and source of community pride. With the new ED, the hospital can separate urgent-care cases from higher-level emergencies, another change that Mercer knows has improved patient satisfaction. In addition, the hospital has been named as one of the nation's 100 "Most Wired" hospitals by Hospitals and Health Networks (H&HN) Magazine for two consecutive years. The award is in recognition of Sunnyside's use of technology as a key tool for healthcare quality improvements.

"We're pretty progressive in this area," said Mercer, speaking of the hospital's technology improvements. "Our work in electronic medical record-keeping has put us in the top 100 hospitals in the country for technology." Other benefits are clear too. "Things don't slip by the way they used to," he said. "The morale of the nurses and hospital staff is better. It's not cheap and there was quite a learning curve, but it's definitely paid off."

With Brim Healthcare, Sunnyside has a partner that the board believes is vital to the hospital's future.